MS. MILLERFALL, 2012

The Writing Process

Objectives for Today

• Define the elements of the writing process

• Learn to pre-write• Learn to draft

• Learn to share for the purpose of revision

• Learn to revise and edit your paper

Learning to Write as a Process

Writing in the past focused on the finished product. The emphasis has shifted from analyzing finished products to looking at what students think and do as they write.

Writing is now viewed as a process done in several steps. The steps are interactive and frequently occur simultaneously.

The Writing Process

The writing process consists of the following:

1. Experience2. Prewriting / Rehearsing 3. Drafting4. Revising and Editing5. Rewriting6. Publishing

Experience

Each of your experiences in the past becomes part of what you know, what you think, and what you have to say in your writing. This makes you unique! Writing is the process of capturing those thoughts and experiences on paper. The secret to good writing is finding a way to put these experiences on paper.

Bonus Tip: "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.“-Dr. Seuss

Journaling

The first two pre-writing tools may help incorporate your experiences in your writing.

1. Journal Writing

2. Free-Writing

Write in a journal on a regular basis. Explore your personal feelings, develop your thoughts, and record events each day. Underline ideas in your journal writing that you would like to explore at a later time.

Recognizing and remembering the experiences from your life will make all of your writing much more vivid, alive, and full of your personality and voice.

Free-writing

Free-writing is writing nonstop for 5-10 minutes to discover possible

writing ideas.

This activity reminds you of what we already know and helps you to make connections you might not otherwise make.

When you start to write your paper, often times your voice is lost after you start to

plug in all of the great facts and details.

Remember, voice is your personal fingerprint on the paper. Voice is your

personality, life experiences, and creativity shining through your paper. Ready to try free-writing?

Assignment

What is your biggest challenge as a writer?

1. Write at least 10 minutes without stopping.

2. Don’t stop to fix or edit what you have written. This is only exploratory writing.

3. Keep writing! Even if you are drawing a blank, keep writing about something.

4. When you are done, be prepared to share your experience.

Drafting

Getting your ideas down without letting concern about correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar get in the way of composing.

Don’t worry about getting everything right at this point; just concentrate on developing your ideas. (If you’re working on a computer, save a paper copy of each draft.)

Bonus Tip: “All writing begins life as a first draft, and first drafts are never any good. They’re not supposed to be.”- Patricia T. O’Conner

Revision and Editing

Revision: clarify, shape and organize and polish the writing. Revision involves adding, substituting, deleting, and moving ideas and words around.

Editing: Fixing grammar and spelling.

Editing

When you edit and proofread, pay attention to the following three traits of effective wiring: sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions.

Sentence Fluency – Rewrite any sentences that disrupt the fluency or flow of your writing. Vary sentence beginnings and lengths.

Word Choice – Replace any words or phrases that get in the way of your message or set the wrong tone. Also replace any overused words, words that are not specific enough, and so on.

Conventions – Make sure that your writing follows the basic standards of spelling, punctuation, mechanics, grammar, and usage.

Review

The writing process consists of the following:

1. Experience2. Prewriting / Rehearsing 3. Drafting4. Revising and Editing5. Rewriting6. Publishing

Be sure to use it for every writing assignment!

Questions?